Page 57 of Riftborne
We seemed to be alone, at least for now.
“Well, that’s not a very polite welcome.” He stood straight, arching an eyebrow.
“I’m very busy at the moment.” My scowl deepened. If Ma saw him here…
He reached towards me, pulling a leaf from my hair. I yanked myself back as he smirked.
“I see you left the more pleasant version of yourself at the ball,” he mused, inspecting the leaf.
“I guess so.”
“Pity.” He sighed, looking me over. It felt like he was undressing me with his eyes.
Heat flushed my cheeks, but I calmed myself, trying to release the scowl from my face. I needed him to leave as quickly as possible. The easiest way would be to pacify him.
“General Ashford,pleasetell me what you want so that I can get back to work.” It didn’t come off as neutral as I intended. He paused for a moment, a curious glint flickering across his eyes before he blinked and diverted his sight towards the exit.
“Our sessions will be the same as always. But, due to increased tension at the border, your group training will be starting sooner than anticipated. Tomorrow, actually. Because of the strained timing, you won’t be getting a formal induction ceremony. Apologies,” he said, his voice flat.
“Tomorrow?” I snapped. “And you waited until now to tell me this?”
“I only returned this morning from Stormshire. I had no way of letting you know before now. Not that it should matter. It’s tomorrow, so you will be theretomorrow.”
He crossed his arms, meeting my gaze with intensity. My blood simmered. He had some nerve showing up here after disappearing with no warning.
“And if I don’t?” It slipped out. I wanted to wince, but I was committed to the defiance.
He stepped towards me, narrowing his eyes. I fought the urge to back away. Laryk quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me close. I wasn’t sure exactly when his name had changed to Laryk in my mind…
“I’m done playing these little games with you,” he whispered. “After tomorrow, you will be an official recruit of the Guard, and you will have to show respect. Not only to me, but to all of your superiors. Do you understand?”
Pulling free of his grip, I backed away, anticipating the rage Iwould find on his face. But a peculiar expression was all that stared back at me. His eyes were softer, almost concerned.
Almost… worried.
I wrinkled my brow.He looked away and ran his hand through his hair before inhaling sharply.
“I didn’t come here to argue. I’ll have your uniform delivered to your flat later tonight.”
A part of me wanted to protest, to find fault in every word he muttered. To fight against his demands. But that part of me was weighed down by a truth that I’d kept hidden, even from myself. As much as I wanted to distrust him, as much as I had trained myself to read the deception within his words, he had not done anything to harm me. Not truly. Not in a way that I would have ever imagined of a Sídhe General.
He had threatened me, inconvenienced me in every way imaginable, even pushed me beyond limits I never thought I could cross. But in the end, those tactics had only made me better. Only made me stronger.
Even if he had gone about it in a way that infuriated me, a way that made me want to claw my own eyes out. Trusting him was stupid, and I wouldn’t. Not fully.
But enough.
He strode towards the door without looking back. With another chime, he was gone.
I sighed, turning around. Ma stepped out from the hallway, crossing her arms and shaking her head. She looked disgusted.
“How can you go along with this?” Her voice was deep. I didn’t know how much of that she had seen. I couldn’t imagine how it looked…
“I provoked that, Ma. He pissed me off and I couldn’t hold my tongue.” I walked past her, heading to my cauldron. She followed me to the back. Her footsteps seemed to echo through the room.
“You’re going to get yourself killed, Fia!” She snapped. I spunaround with wide eyes. She had never yelled at me like that before. My breath caught in my throat.
“I need you to trust me, Ma. I know you don’t understand, and you probably never will. But at least trustme.” My eyes were pleading.
